May 1920 lunar eclipse
| Total eclipse | |||||||||||||||||
The Moon's hourly motion shown right to left | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | May 3, 1920 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Gamma | −0.3312 | ||||||||||||||||
| Magnitude | 1.2194 | ||||||||||||||||
| Saros cycle | 120 (53 of 84) | ||||||||||||||||
| Totality | 71 minutes, 31 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Partiality | 219 minutes, 39 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
| Penumbral | 360 minutes, 4 seconds | ||||||||||||||||
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A total lunar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Monday, May 3, 1920, with an umbral magnitude of 1.2194. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon's near side entirely passes into the Earth's umbral shadow. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours, while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place, because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Occurring only about 3.8 days before apogee (on May 6, 1920, at 21:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
This lunar eclipse was the first of an almost tetrad, with the others being on October 27, 1920 (total); April 22, 1921 (total); and October 16, 1921 (partial).